The SWCHA 2008 Annual Conference is over, the membership has voted and the results are in...
Click here to meet your new officers!

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Message from the President

Greetings! As summer continues in full swing with ample days of sunshine still ahead, I trust this finds you in good health, great spirits, and enjoying a summer full of fun and accomplishments! For SWCHA, this summer has been a busy one!

In April, the SWCHA officers held a mid-year meeting to address business matters. The recently approved Articles of Incorporation (AOI) that are now in force for each ACHA Affiliate were discussed - the passing of the AOI provides additional insulation and assurance to Affiliate Officers relative to the concern over personal liability. With the passing of the AOI, Affiliate Officers have no personal liability or exposure in the event of suit or loss. This was a major accomplishment for ACHA and the Affiliates. On behalf of the SWCHA Officers, I wish to extend our profound thanks to all at National who worked to make this happen. Thank you.

In June, a record number of our affiliate members attended the American College Health Association (ACHA) meeting in Orlando, Florida. Joining other ACHA attendees, SWCHA members attended educational presentations, earned CEUs, met with exhibitors, and networked their way around central Florida. I believe all would agree that it was an amazing opportunity and experience. It was indeed 'magical' for those who had a chance to see and meet Magic Johnson, speaker at the Diversity Reception. If you have never been to a national ACHA conference, try to attend at least one during your career in College Health. The next annual meeting will be held in San Francisco! For more information visit www.acha.org and save the dates on your calendar!

Speaking of meetings, have you registered for the SWCHA 2008 Annual meeting? Early registration ends September 19th so don't delay! This year's meeting is being held in Austin, Texas October 5-7 at a spanking new hotel and conference center on the perimeter of the University of Texas campus. www.meetattexas.com The Program Planning Committee has been hard at work reviewing programs and reports there will be 32 separate sessions for attendees to choose from with continuing educational credits available for Health Educators, Nurses, Psychologists, and Physicians. This year's offerings also include an abundance of presentations beneficial to Administrators and for those 'techies' we have a line up of Technology presentations and although these will not be available for CEUs they do promise to be enlightening, and germane, to College Health. The SWCHA Officers voted to provide the same registration fee for members and non-members - we felt like once non-members experienced the energy of the Southwest College Health Association, they would not be able to resist joining us! And don't forget the membership drive - we are asking each member to recruit one new member by September! Membership applications are available at www.acha.org See your State Representative for more information.

This month, we unveiled our new web site. This site is sponsored by Academic HealthPlans (thank you Terry Lyons and Judith Baxter) and was developed and is hosted and maintainted by DellaMark Web Technologies, Inc. (thanks Rebecca and Aaron). We now have our own domain (www.swcha.org) where site visitors can register online, purchase SWCHA promotional items, make donations, pay for sponsorships, etc. We are very glad to have this capability and believe it will serve SWCHA well in the years to come. On-line surveys and voting will be also available through this site. As the theme for the annual conference changes each year, the site will be refreshed to reflect the new theme without additional design expenditures - we are trying to be fiscally responsible to our members and creative as well. So as this years 'Deep in the Heart of Texas' retires in October, the Roses of Tyler, Texas will spring forth as President-Elect, Kerry Scruggs of UT Tyler, takes office. (plan on being at the meeting in Tyler in 2009)! By establishing our web site in this manner, it relieves future SWCHA Officers of web site dilemmas and the organization of additional expenses. We hope you like it and we welcome your gentle feedback!

Other news in SWCHA includes the announcement of our newly elected Region Representative, Kathy Saichuk. Kathy is from Louisiana State University where she is a Certified Health Education Specialist (CHES). She will serve as the liaison between national ACHA and Region 1. Region 1 is comprised of the Southwest and Southern affiliates. Kathy has been a long-standing member of ACHA and whenever I have a question that can't be answered, I know Kathy will always be able to provide a prompt and accurate reply. Congratulations, Kathy!

Congratulations also go to another SWCHA member named Kathy - Kathy Mosteller, RN and Nurse Manager from University Health Services at UT Austin. Kathy was the recipient of the SWCHA Affiliate New Professional Award for 2008. This award was presented to her at the awards dinner held at the national meeting in Orlando for the work she has done to expand and refine the Clinical Volunteer Program at UHS. Congratulations, Kathy!

Lastly, nominations for SWCHA Officers opened in June at the National Conference and remain open so nominate someone today! Vacancies are for President-Elect; Secretary/Treasurer; and Historian. These are one year terms commencing in November 2008 and running through November 2009. If you are interested, or wish to nominate someone, please click on the Nominations button to the left for more information. Voting will be accomplished on line and the results announced at the October Conference in Austin.

In closing, I would like to wish you a great summer and as we face the fall with a barrage of eager students, flu clinics, and the thrill of a new semester, keep your colleagues in mind, stay in touch, and I hope to see you in Austin this October!

Many thanks for all you do each and every day,

Leah Arnett, RN, BSN, MHCA
SWCHA President
University of Texas at Austin
512-475-8349
512-471-0898 (fax)
Click here to email!



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